Average power rating of opponents played: COLORADO 3.11, COLUMBUS 3.32

SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

COLORADO - Schedule

Date

Opponent

Score

SU

Line

ATS

Total

O/U

2/4/2013

DALLAS

2-3

L

0, -135

L

5 ov

P

2/6/2013

ANAHEIM

0-3

L

0, +115

L

5.5 un

U

2/11/2013

PHOENIX

2-3

L

0, -105

L

5 ov

P

2/14/2013

at MINNESOTA

4-3

W

0, +140

W

5 ev

O

2/16/2013

at EDMONTON

4-6

L

0, +115

L

5 ov

O

2/18/2013

NASHVILLE

6-5

W

0, +105

W

5 ev

O

2/20/2013

ST LOUIS

1-0

W

0, +105

W

5.5 un

U

2/23/2013

at LOS ANGELES

1-4

L

0, +160

L

5 ev

P

2/24/2013

at ANAHEIM

3-4

L

0, +160

L

5.5 un

O

2/26/2013

at SAN JOSE

2-3

L

0, +170

L

5.5 un

U

2/28/2013

CALGARY

5-4

W

0, -125

W

5.5 un

O

3/3/2013

at COLUMBUS

3/5/2013

at DETROIT

3/6/2013

at CHICAGO

3/8/2013

CHICAGO

3/10/2013

SAN JOSE

3/12/2013

EDMONTON

3/14/2013

at MINNESOTA

COLUMBUS - Schedule

Date

Opponent

Score

SU

Line

ATS

Total

O/U

2/5/2013

LOS ANGELES

2-4

L

0, +140

L

5.5 un

O

2/7/2013

CALGARY

3-4

L

0, +100

L

5.5 un

O

2/10/2013

EDMONTON

1-3

L

0, -115

L

5.5 un

U

2/11/2013

SAN JOSE

6-2

W

0, +165

W

5.5 un

O

2/15/2013

at LOS ANGELES

1-2

L

0, +155

L

5 ov

U

2/16/2013

at PHOENIX

3-5

L

0, +190

L

5 ov

O

2/18/2013

at ANAHEIM

2-3

L

0, +170

L

5.5 un

U

2/21/2013

at DETROIT

3-2

W

0, +150

W

5.5 un

U

2/23/2013

at ST LOUIS

1-2

L

0, +190

L

5.5 un

U

2/24/2013

at CHICAGO

0-1

L

0, +245

L

5.5 un

U

2/26/2013

DALLAS

4-5

L

0, +100

L

5.5 un

O

3/1/2013

at CHICAGO

3-4

L

0, +230

L

5 ov

O

3/3/2013

COLORADO

3/5/2013

EDMONTON

3/7/2013

VANCOUVER

3/9/2013

DETROIT

3/10/2013

at DETROIT

3/12/2013

VANCOUVER

3/14/2013

CHICAGO

KEY GAME INFORMATION

COLORADO:

LAST SEASON: 41-35-6, 88 points. Missed postseason.

COACH: Joe Sacco, 4th season with Avalanche, 114-109-23.

ADDED: RW P.A. Parenteau, C John Mitchell, D Greg Zanon

LOST: C Peter Mueller, C Jay McClement, C Joakim Lindstrom.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Gabriel Landeskog. The Avalanche believe so highly in the 20-year-old that they made him the youngest captain in NHL history. Landeskog is coming off a stellar season in which he won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie.

OUTLOOK: The Avs will have plenty of scoring punch - even more if they can sign restricted free-agent center Ryan O'Reilly - but to return to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons will largely depend on the play of goaltender Semyon Varlamov. He had a 2.59 goals-against average in his first season in Colorado after being acquired from Washington for a first-round pick. The Avs expect big things out of the young netminder.

COLUMBUS:

LAST SEASON: 29-46-7, 65 points. Missed playoffs by finishing last in the Western Conference.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Bobrovsky. Acquired in trade with Philadelphia, he'll likely either take over the starting job or push Steve Mason, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in the Blue Jackets' only playoff year in 2009 but has struggled in the past three seasons.

OUTLOOK: Coming off the worst record in the league, and with captain and lone offensive star Nash asking for a trade, the Blue Jackets transformed their roster by dealing him to the New York Rangers along with a minor-league defenseman and a third-round pick for Dubinsky, Anisimov, Erixon and a first-round pick. With three first-rounders this summer, new team president John Davidson is building for the future. These 48 games are hoped to be a first step back toward respectability.

While it's been a bumpy ride for the road-challenged Colorado Avalanche, Ryan O'Reilly should give them a big boost going forward.

The 22-year-old center is expected to make his season debut Sunday as the Avalanche kick off a three-game trek against the NHL-worst Columbus Blue Jackets.

O'Reilly, who led Colorado with 37 assists and 55 points last season, is set to take the ice for the first time following a lengthy holdout. The restricted free agent signed an offer sheet with Calgary before Colorado matched the two-year, $10 million deal.

"I'm just so excited now to be playing hockey and be back with these guys," O'Reilly said. "I can't believe how nice everyone has been about it and how great they've been to just accept me back - it's like I haven't left. It just shows the character of this team.

"Hopefully I can contribute as best I can. It will probably take a little while to get back in the swing of things and catch up to the speed of the game."

The Avalanche (8-8-3) announced the signing during the first period of Thursday's thrilling 5-4 victory over the Flames. Colorado trailed 3-0 after the first 20 minutes and entered the third down 4-2 before storming back.

"That was great news," 20-year-old captain Gabriel Landeskog said of O'Reilly's signing. "I know there were 24 guys who were happy to have him back."

Landeskog had a goal and two assists while Matt Duchene recorded two points, including the go-ahead score 10:52 into the third.

"It was time to get back to what makes us a good team," Duchene told the club's official website. "We had a great second period. I think after we got those two goals we really believed that we were going to win the game. You could feel it in here. It's a great feeling right now. It's one of the best Avalanche wins in recent memory, that's for sure."

While Colorado improved to 6-2-1 at home, it's struggled in opposing arenas. The Avalanche have been outscored 37-22 in going 2-6-2 on the road, where they've posted a league-low 65.1 penalty-kill percentage.

Colorado, though, has taken 10 of 13 from the Blue Jackets (5-12-4), including a 4-0 win Jan. 24. Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves while Duchene scored twice and added an assist. The Avalanche, who are 7-2-1 when Duchene posts at least one point, have gone 5-1-0 in Columbus since 2009-10.

The Blue Jackets return home mired in a 1-5-2 stretch after suffering a 4-3 overtime loss at NHL-leading Chicago on Friday.

"Regardless of who it is, it's still a loss," coach Todd Richards said. "We still just aren't quite good enough. We battled and competed, which is what we should do, but we've got to find ways to come out on top."

Artem Anisimov scored in his return from a three-game absence due to an upper-body injury and fellow forward Vinny Prospal added his team-leading seventh goal. Columbus, though, was again without centers Brandon Dubinsky (knee) and Derick Brassard (upper body) as well as defensemen Jack Johnson (shoulder), James Wisniewski (broken foot) and John Moore (upper body).

"We did some pretty good things to be able to stick with those guys, but we're not doing enough to get that next goal," Steve Mason said after making 31 saves. "We knew it would be a real test for us because we had a lot of guys out."

The Blue Jackets could catch a break if Colorado goes with Varlamov, who is 0-6-1 with a with a 3.73 goals-against average over seven road starts. Varlamov, however, went 2-0-0 with one shutout and a 0.96 GAA at Nationwide Arena last season.